The 80-10-10 Diet: Balancing Your Health, Your Weight and Your Life One Luscious Bite at a Time by Dr. Douglas N. Graham (ISBN 13: 978-1-893931-24-7 Foodnsport Press Key Largo, FL 33037; Foodnsport@aol.com; paperback, 350 pages; $29.95).
If you are looking for good answers as to why humans should be eating raw food, then this book answers questions that people want and need to know. The 80 in the title refers to the 80% carbohydrates that are the most important part of the human diet – comprised of mainly raw fruit and raw greens. The two 10s refer to 10% protein and 10% fat.
Most people have bought into the dietary standards that have been erroneously set by those who have a vested interest in making sure that Americans are eating enough other food products. If anything, our national health statistics are a disgrace. Doug Graham notes their questionable value when he writes, "[a] 1993 General Accounting Office report criticized the Department of Agriculture for using lax methods to determine nutrients, citing among other things small sample sizes and ‘little or no supporting information on the testing and quality assurance procedures used to develop the date.’"
So, Dr. Doug Graham wisely ignores conventional dietary standards and instead stresses raw food, as foods heated over 112-114 degrees Fahrenheit have had their enzymes destroyed – and no enzymes means that the vitamins and minerals in the foods are not available.
As a species, he says, we originated in a warm climate – and this is where tropical fruits abound. Our biochemistry tells us exactly which foods we can and cannot digest – and therefore what foods we should eat. Eating foods that necessitate processing and cooking leaves humans having to cope with nutritional, digestive, and health problems.
Humans were not designed to be eating grains and beans, which are complex carbohydrates and create an acid environment in the body, even when soaked and eaten raw. The human body, he says, requires a more alkaline balance in order to function well.
Moreover, gluten intolerance (Celiac Disease) contributes to or causes a wide range of other diseases, including asthma, arthritis, chronic fatigue, Type-2 Diabetes, depression, eczema, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastro-intestinal problems. Even autism, schizophrenia, and several autoimmune disorders are linked to eating gluten.
Many health seekers do not know that high-fat foods, such as avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil, can be detrimental to their health. This is something else that he covers in The 80-10-10 Diet in its Appendix B: Frequently Asked Questions. He gives both newcomers and oldtimers answers to their special health questions.
People need to be aware that high-fat and high-protein cooked foods are breaking down their bodies; and even eating raw foods high in protein, such as dairy and meat, can cause health problems. Common sense should tell people that eating the wrong foods causes health problems. In order to get well people need to learn how to eat right.
“Appendix C: Personal Success Stories with The 80/10/10 Diet” offers the reader 25 testimonials from those who have been following his program – some for many years. They all proclaim that by eating sufficient amounts of raw food that they have overcome every health problem imaginable. There is no calorie counting with his program. It is by eating at least 5 to 10 pounds of raw food daily (depending upon the size of the individual) that good health will materialize.
Thinking about other species, most of them consume multi-pounds of food daily. The 800-pound gorilla eats over 40 pounds of food daily. Our human way of eating – small compact portions of high-fat, high-protein, and high-carbohydrate foods daily – is doing us in! Dr. Graham gives his readers 28 sample menus, divided into four seasonal categories of Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring, which when followed would mean consuming some 7 to 10 pounds of food daily. He does caution, though, that it takes time to transition to these portions. Although I never ate this way, today I am striving to follow his recommendation because it makes sense. Humans have a 32-foot-long intestinal tract, which needs sufficient food in order to keep it working right. Mankind and the animal kingdom have been searching for and "grazing" food constantly. Our society has changed, but not our physiological needs.
Since his graduation from chiropractic college in 1983, Dr. Graham has done considerable research during those 25 years. Not only has he lectured extensively and helped thousands to find their own pathway to health, Dr. Graham has written another book, Grain Damage, The High Energy Diet Recipe Guide and Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Yet it is present book, The 80-10-10 Diet, that benefits the most from his wealth of accumulated knowledge; and I recommend it to you here.
- - -
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1934, Barbara Charis has been a health researcher for 47 years and is a nutritional consultant featured in, among other things, Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Women, and Who's Who in Medicine and Health Care. Currently the Director of the Charis Holistic Center, in North Hollywood, California, a position she has held since 1982, she has also been the radio-show host for The Health Beat, Los Angeles (1988-89), the author of Sharing from the Heart (1995), producer of the Los Angeles TV show Sharing from the Heart (1996-97), Vice President of the Vegetarian Society (1982-83), a runner in the LA Marathons (1994, 1999, & 2004), and Lifetime Member of National Health Federation. She may be reached at barbaracharis@gmail.com.
